THE REAL THING Opens 6/17 at the Black Box Theatre

No Strings Theatre Company presents Tom Stoppard's entertaining and engaging award-winning play, "The Real Thing" directed by NSTC's Artistic Director, Ceil Herman. The play opens at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N Main Street in Las Cruces runs through Sunday, July 3.

>From his Tony-winning "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" in 1967, Tom Stoppard has been known for his intellectually stimulating and witty plays. "The Real Thing," written in 1982 has had a distinguished production history. Felicity Kendal and Roger Reese originated the role of Annie and Henry, respectively. That production received the 1982 Evening Standard Award for Best Play. The Broadway production received the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play and the Tony Award for Best play. In addition Glenn Close as Annie, Jeremy Irons as Henry and Christine Baranski as Charlotte received Tony awards.

In his review for The New York Times, Frank Rich wrote that "The Broadway version of The Real Thing - a substantial revision of the original London production - is not only Mr. Stoppard's most moving play, but also the most bracing play that anyone has written about love and marriage in years."

"The Real Thing" examines what Tom Stoppard saw as an element he had neglected in his previous plays, the ability to show what keeps couples together or rips them apart, and it is highly self-reflective. The main character, Henry is a playwright and we quickly see all the insecurities and suspicions that make up his fragile ego. The main problem is that Henry has been writing about romance but can't seem to experience it. The premise is that he's looking for "the real thing" and thinks he has found it. Apparently it's not that easy and this makes for great repartee and wonderful sarcasm. There are also tucked-in references to other plays and the use of staged play within a play echoes the search for "The Real Thing."

The NSTC production stars Josh Taulbee as Henry and Nora Brown as Annie, Henry's second wife. Eric Brekke plays Max, Annie's first husband, Jamie Bronstein is Charlotte, Henry's first wife, and Ellie Hernandez plays Debbie, the daughter of Henry and Charlotte. Abe Espana as Billy, a young actor and Sean Murphy as Brodie, a young activist are two men who also have important roles in Annie's life. Peter Herman designed the Lights and Sets for the production, Karen Ross is the Stage Manager, and Bekka Riley is the Light Board Operator.

"Orange You Glad You Came" is the art exhibit in thetheatregallery by Margaret Bernstein. thetheatregallery is open an hour before all performances and by appointment by calling (575) 523-1223

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sunday matinee on July 3 at 2:30 p.m. and a Thursday evening performance on June 30 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $12.00 regular and $10.00 students and seniors over 65. All seats on Thursdays are $8.00. Season tickets are on sale for NSTC's 2016-2017 season. For reservations call (575) 523-1223.

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